A review by kbweis
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

definitely gripping but also filled with characters who were completely unlikeable. mariana as a narrator drove me insane at times in the way she was so indecisive and also completely unhinged but pretended to be the pinnacle of ethics in some ways (always talking about the values and knowledge she had from being a therapist, etc.), when she actually wound up being kind of terrible. even though it was also completely understandable, she also wound up lacking so much empathy for those around her on a lot of levels. her random possible love interests were also extremely puzzling to me (but maybe that's because i'm a lesbian). 

additionally, too many men period, but also too many men who were considered suspect. even with so many people in the equation, the culprit didn't wind up being a total plot twist for me (definitely
zoe's relationship with sebastian did
, though). because this was a thriller and because i listened to this on audio, it was engrossing, but that doesn't equate to good for me. 

final thought: how come all dark academia books are focused on classics?? where is the math dark academia book i'm craving??
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